Geelong AFL draft smoky Francis Evans’ bold plan to play seniors in 2020
Five games in the VAFA and a game-and-a-half in the NAB League was all it took for ultimate AFL Draft smoky Francis Evans to convince Geelong to take a punt on him.
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Francis Evans isn’t worried about being tagged the biggest smoky of the 2019 national draft.
The amateur footballer from Brunswick was thrown into the spotlight when Geelong recruiting guru Stephen Wells called his name at pick No.41.
Five games with VAFA club Brunswick NOBS and a game-and-a-half with the Calder Cannons was all the evidence the Cats needed to take a punt on Evans.
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“It doesn’t really bother me if people call me a smoky or whatever, at the end of the day I’m on the list,” Evans said.
“We’re all the same, all of the draftees are in the same position now. Once you’re there, you’re there and you’ve just got to get to work.
“I aim to be playing to be playing senior football next year if everything goes to plan.”
The Evans story is a simple one, an inner-city kid who always had a dream to play in the big time.
From U/10s to U/17s he played for the Brunswick Dragons and attended Brunswick Secondary College.
His mother is a historian while his dad works in the auditor general’s office and he’s been a Hawthorn supporter all his life.
Despite not making any of the underage squads in the traditional pathway system of the NAB League, Evans always thought he’d get a chance at the big time if he performed at Brunswick.
“I wasn’t really disappointed as there wasn’t anyone to compare it to really,” he said.
“At our club we were relatively new so I didn’t know about the rep squads and all of that.
“You can’t worry about it, it’s not really going to change anything. I tried to put it behind me and thought I might as well play my best footy at Brunswick and then hopefully something happens from there
“I always had a bit of a hope that I could still get picked up at NOBS, I was hoping for a VFL gig and then when Calder called it hit me that it was looking a little bit more likely.”
After a handful of games in the seniors as a 16-year-old, Evans played five games this season at NOBS and kicked 21 goals including a bag of eight in one game.
Geelong had received a tip-off about the mercurial 182cm forward and Wells liked what he saw before Evans was called up to Calder midway through the season.
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He kicked five goals for the Cannons in two games before a fractured heel ended his season.
“I didn’t even know what had happened, it was just really sore at halftime,” Evans said.
“I thought I’d rolled my ankle but it turns out I had fractured or broken my heel bone.
“There wasn’t a specific incident, they just said it was a freak accident and I was on crutches for a few weeks.”
Geelong skipper Joel Selwood and Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield have already been on the phone and Evans is looking forward to making an impression when he starts training on Monday.
“I was a bit speechless as I didn’t really know what to say, they’re your idols and now you’re playing them,” he said.
“It’s all happened suddenly for me but I can’t wait to get into it.”
Originally published as Geelong AFL draft smoky Francis Evans’ bold plan to play seniors in 2020